EIA Writing Style Guide April 2015
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EIA Writing Style Guide April 2015 U.S. Energy Information Administration Office of Communications This publication is available on the EIA employee intranet and at: www.eia.gov/eiawritingstyleguide.pdf U.S. government publications are not subject to copyright protection, but you should acknowledge EIA as the source if you use or reproduce this content. Contents Introduction to the EIA Writing Style Guide ........................................................................ 1 Chapter 1: Editorial Voice and Words and Phrases To Avoid .............................................. 9 Chapter 2: Policy-Neutral Writing ....................................................................................... 19 Chapter 3: Advice for Good Writing .................................................................................... 21 Chapter 4: Grammar ........................................................................................................... 29 Chapter 5: Commonly Misused Words .............................................................................. 33 Chapter 6: Capitalization.................................................................................................... 47 Chapter 7: Numbers ............................................................................................................ 57 Chapter 8: Commas .............................................................................................................. 67 Chapter 9: Hyphens and Dashes .......................................................................................... 73 Chapter 10: Colons and Semicolons ..................................................................................... 83 Chapter 11: Periods .............................................................................................................. 87 Chapter 12: Symbols ............................................................................................................. 91 Chapter 13: Punctuating and Formatting Quoted Text........................................................ 93 Chapter 14: Abbreviations and Units................................................................................... 97 Chapter 15: Itemized Lists and Bullets ................................................................................ 107 Chapter 16: Footnotes, Sources, and Notes ........................................................................ 113 Chapter 17: Hypertext Links ................................................................................................ 121 Chapter 18: British versus American English...................................................................... 125 Index .................................................................................................................................... 129 Introduction to the EIA Writing Style Guide This style guide is an update of the edition released in November 2012. 1 Why a writing style guide? We wrote this Writing Style Guide to help EIA writers produce consistent, correct, and readable content. It provides guidance on those style issues—including capitalization, punctuation, word usage, tone—most relevant to EIA writing. This edition includes new content: • An index to help you find major topics • Information on using and sourcing nonoriginal work and third-party data • Direction to use CO2, b (rather than bbl for barrel), and the % sign in all EIA Did you know? content This version of the EIA • An update on classic writing guidance Writing Style Guide • An alphabetized list of hyphenated and nonhyphenated words reflects the latest • Advice on copyediting and using spellcheck to find mistakes thinking of writers • Guidance on using endnotes as a sourcing option and editors at EIA. • Description of different uses of the letter M in energy units The fundamental principles are the • Format for writing mathematical equations same, but a few • Information about writing in plain language rules have changed. This new edition also includes more examples, explanations, advice, and notes. We included this additional material to answer the hundreds of questions asked by EIA staff, to address writing mistakes caught while editing EIA content, and to cover a few new writing style preferences. The 2015 EIA Writing Style Guide is provided in html on the EIA employee intranet (InsideEIA) and at www.eia.gov/eiawritingstyleguide.pdf, which allows you to search or link to related sections of the document. Two rules were changed since the 2012 Writing Style Guide was published and have already been incorporated into EIA writing: • Use the % sign in all EIA writing • Write online as one word in all uses (on the computer, when a pipeline or electricity generator opens or is operating) Because the content was written to help you and has been improved by your questions and comments, the Office of Communications welcomes feedback, suggestions, corrections, and general comments. The Writing Style Guide is designed to save you time. Have you ever wondered or worried about which was correct: • Periods or no punctuation for bullets? • Which or that? • % sign or percent? You can quickly find answers to these questions—and most of your style-related questions—in this Writing Style Guide. 2 U.S. Energy Information Administration | EIA Writing Style Guide Do these guidelines apply to print and web content? This Writing Style Guide will help you produce uniform documents, regardless of office, function, or publication form. The purpose of the Writing Style Guide is to provide style consistency in all EIA content. It addresses some issues that are particular to web writing, such as writing effective hypertext links. But most of the advice applies to all the writing you do including reports, website content, and PowerPoint presentations. Are these hard-and-fast rules? This is a Writing Style Guide—not a rule book. Unlike grammar, which has specific rules that should not be broken, many style issues are preferences, such as how and when to write out numbers, whether to use the serial comma, or when to use ending punctuation for bullets. Writers and editors may differ. Famous style guides differ. Areas of the world differ. Our goal is to provide guidance on style issues, so EIA content has uniformity that conveys professionalism. Examples labeled preferred mean preferred by EIA. Style consistency enhances our credibility. Inconsistencies in style or misused words cause users of our information to question the accuracy of our data. A uniform style tells users that EIA has high quality standards for our words as well as for our numbers. Where can I get more guidance on editorial style? We’ve addressed the most common style issues that EIA writers face. If you have a question that isn’t covered in this guide, or if there is a topic you’d like to know more about, consult these online references: • The Chicago Manual of Style, the most widely used style manual. EIA has a subscription to The Chicago Manual of Style • U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO) Style Manual, an authoritative source of information about issues that are specific to writing for the federal government • Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, EIA’s preferred dictionary Other sources consulted in the preparation of EIA’s Writing Style Guide: • Grammar Girl’s Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing, Mignon Fogarty, 2008 • Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary of English Usage, 1994 • The Elements of Style, William Strunk and E. B. White, 1999 • OECD Style Guide, Second edition, 2007 • The Subversive Copy Editor: Advice from Chicago, Carol Fisher Saller, 2009 • EERE Communication Standards and Guidelines: Style Guide, from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy • Woe Is I, Patricia T. O’Connor, 2003 Please contact Colleen Blessing or Dale Sweetnam in the Office of Communications with any questions, comments, or suggestions about writing or about the Writing Style Guide. U.S. Energy Information Administration | EIA Writing Style Guide 3 Writing well at EIA Use short sentences Short sentences are easier to read, so aim for a maximum of 20 to 30 words. Consider breaking a long sentence into two shorter sentences or eliminating unnecessary words. Use short paragraphs Did you know? Avoid long paragraphs or large blocks of text. Long paragraphs are daunting and difficult for readers to scan. Try to write paragraphs of four or five sentences, or Plain language is approximately 100–125 words. Paragraphs as short as one sentence are fine. Use the law, not just bullets to list points. something nice to do every so often or Avoid jargon s o m e t h i n g E I A i n v e n t e d . Jargon may be appropriate when writing exclusively for experts. But EIA’s web content The Plain Writing Act is accessible to a wide range of readers, from experts on your topic to novices. signed by President As much as possible, choose nontechnical terms so all your intended readers can Obama in October understand what you’ve written. If you must use jargon or technical language, be 2010 is a federal law sure to explain the term in simple language. You might also link to an EIA glossary that requires federal definition or to other source material. To make the concept clear to the layperson, executive agencies to you can provide an example or an analogy. use plain writing and to train employees in plain Be consistent writing. The law says Good writing is built on patterns, so be consistent within your content. federal agencies should write